Impossible Difficulty Strategy Guide
This guide is on strategy for Impossible difficulty. For advice on tactical combat, see the Impossible Difficulty Combat Guide article. = General information and advice = Premise Beating the game on Impossible is very possible. The main struggle will come in a first few months of the game, and after you get everything going, it's a walk in the park. To begin with, there is no tutorial for Impossible, and the game begins straight with the first ground mission. Before you start check out the major changes on Impossible difficulty. Picking a start continent *Europe - it halves the price of your Workshops and Laboratories, saving you for each Workshops and Laboratories. Also contains four country, which means if you start here, you can sacrifice three country on Abduction Missions and other continents can be saved. Recommended for those who used Workshops and Laboratories in previous playthroughs, otherwise it`s not the best start continent. * South America - gives instant interrogations and autopsies, it will save you a couple of research days each (3-5 days). Also reduce the time of certain subsequent researches by 50%. Not recommended as start continent, if you can, save it with satellites (need only 2), but other continents are far better. * North America - drops the price of Interceptors from to , and their maintenance from to . The savings from this bonus are low to moderate, which makes this continent an inefficient start. Not recommended as start continent. * Africa - increases XCOM total monthly income by 30%. The bonus is very powerful in early and late game, when you have a lot of countries covered with your satellites. At the start of the game this bonus gives §210 instead of §165. It can be a good start continent because you get more money in early game. Recommended if you willing to sacrifice other bonuses for more money. * Asia - decreases the credit cost of all projects in the Foundry and Officer Training School by 50%. One of the best bonus in the game, it can save a good amount of cash, contains four country, which means if you start here, you can sacrifice three country on Abduction Missions and other continents can be saved. Highly recommended start continent. = Step by Step walkthrough = First month of the game *Objective: survive the invasion. Major events There will be 5 major events during the month. * First Mission * Abduction Mission * First UFO Contact * Abduction Mission or random Council mission * random Council Mission or Abduction Mission * Council Report Enemy types and numbers *First Mission: 8 Sectoids (two group of 3 and one group of 2) *Abduction Mission: 12 Sectoids (four group of 3) *First UFO Contact: 4 Sectoids (two group of 2) and 1 Outsider (inside UFO). *Council Mission: **Target Escort/Extraction: 6 Sectoids (two group of 3) and 5 Thin Men (one can be found around the map, mostly at the center, others will spawn as you move forward with your allied civilian). **Bomb Disposal: 6 Sectoids (two group of 3) and 5 Thin Men (one can be found around the map, mostly at the center, four will spawn when you diffuse the bomb). First month strategy Strategy Number One *After completing the First Mission, start researching Weapon Fragments (it takes 8 day to research), start excavating first floor, then Scan the planet. *When first Abduction Mission appears, go for a mission with 4 Engineers reward. (At the end of the month, you need 10 engineers to build Satellite Uplink, 6 Engineers to build a Workshop and 12 to build Laser Rifle and Laser Pistol.) *After completing Abduction Mission build a satellite (it is cost only now), then Scan. *If Weapon Fragments research completed before first UFO contact, start Alien Materials, then Scan. *Shoot down your first UFO and complete the ground mission. *After first UFO contact Beam Weapons (research) is available if Weapon Fragments research is completed. Start Beam Weapons (research) or switch to it, even if only a few days left in Alien Materials. Beam weapons takes 24 days with 5 Scientists, so it will be finished right after the end of the first month. It is a quite long research, but if you choose 4 scientists on the second Abduction Mission or get them as a reward on a Council Mission, research time will be reduced. Without Laser Rifle and Laser Pistol, the second month is not impossible, but difficult. Furthermore, developing Beam Weapons first is highly recommended (however 12 Engineers are required to build these weapons, build a Workshop if necessary). Scan the planet. *Next two mission can be an Abduction Mission or a Council mission. *If Council Mission appears before second Abduction Mission, with some luck you can get 4 Engineers, 4 Scientists or a panick reduction on an important country. Choosing rewards on second Abduction Mission can depend on this. *When second Abduction Mission appears, choose 4 Engineers as reward if possible. If not, then choose 4 Scientists or try to save Africa. *Before Council Report launch your satellite on a country with 5 panick level, first priority is Africa then the country with highest income. Move one of your Interceptors to the new continent. Scan to next month. Strategy Number Two It`s a solid strategy to keep South America, for instant interrogations and autopsies, which can save you a few days on research. It`s great for science if you can capture aliens alive, and you will only need one more satellite on this continent for extra bonus. Be prepared: you are going to lose 4 countries in the first month by default. However, with good gameplay it is possible to lose one of them only. One of the ways to keep a Country is to "fish" for Council Missions in that Country with panic reduction reward. To do that, reload a save made at any time before the mission was announced. Council mission is random every time, and reward is random every time. The countries you should lose better be at your starting continent. This way, you won't lose the possibility to acquire all continent bonuses. There are two general approaches to development in the first month. First way is to focus on Satellites and base facilities to lay the monetary foundation for future months. It will require a lot of skill with handling your soldiers to avoid losses, but it will keep more countries from leaving the Council, due to launching more satellites. To help yourself with ground missions, it's a good call to research armor, for more HP. If you feel really confident, research the Arc Thrower and keep capturing aliens, to reduce research times and enable Alien Base Assault sooner. It is possible not to lose any country at all. Calendar of key events should be the following: * 2 March. Go for a Mission with 4 Engineers reward. (You need 10 engineers to build Satellite Uplink and you will need 6 Engineers to build a Workshop.) * 2 March. Build a Workshop * 10 March. Now prices drops and you can buy 4 Satellites each * 15 March. Build Satellite uplink * 30 March. Launch your satellites Some tips how obtain enough Credits: * Sell some items on the Gray Market * Skip first Small UFO. You will get Medium UFO * Don't buy jets before 27 March. You will not detect second UFO in March Second way is to focus on making ground missions easier. While more reliable for ground missions, this is less monetary rewarding, and will likely result in more countries leaving The Council, due to fewer satellites. * Hire enough soldiers ( per soldier) to sustain your ground force. * Research armor and weapons, manufacture armor for your troops in the Engineering. * On the first abduction mission, select 4 Engineers as a reward, and build a satellite after you got your Engineers — to pay. * On the second abduction mission, select 4 Engineers as a reward. * After raiding the first UFO, build a Satellite Uplink facility. You may have to sell some trophies at the Gray Market to afford that. You can get enough money to build the Uplink even if you had before the mission. * Build a Power Generator. * At the Council meeting, it is likely that two or three countries will abandon the project. Choosing which country to give satellite coverage: * You already got the bonus of your starting continent so these countries can be sacrificed. Asia and Europe have the most 'sacrificial' countries. * Africa should be priority one, you can`t lose that 30% income bonus, no matter what. * South America only needs 2 satellites and give a good bonus for the second month. Sectoid and Floater corpses provide a good bonus vs UFO's, while you can focus your research on weapons and armor. * Consider focussing on 2 continents. More than 2 continents means you need to buy extra Interceptors. The first UFO might appear before 3 days (before new interceptors are built) Transit your second starting interceptor to a new continent 3 days prior to council report. Each extra continent means extra costs for defense the first month. Second month *Objective: preparation for raiding the Alien Base, and the actual raid if possible. Major events There will be 2 abduction missions, so there is a high possibility to lose 4 more countries. There will be 5 major events. # Abduction Mission # UFO Landing Site / UFO Contact # Alien Terror Attack # Abduction Mission # UFO Contact / UFO Landing Site # Council report Enemy types and numbers *Abduction Mission: *UFO Contact/UFO Landing Site: **Small UFO (+1 in each group if landed): 2 Floaters, 2 Sectoids and 1 Outsider **Medium UFO (+1 in each group if landed): 2 Floaters, 2 Sectoids, 2 Thin Men and 1 Outsider *Alien Terror Attack: 6 Floaters (two group of 3) and 3 Chryssalids (they will attack civilians even in fog of war, expect heavy Zombie overrush or more Chryssalids) Second month strategy Strategy Number One *At the start of the second month build a Satellite Uplink and 3 satellites (Satellite Uplinks should groupped together to get adjacency bonus). Sell some items on the Gray Market if you dont have enough money. Finish Beam Weapons (research) and start Alien Materials (it takes 8 day with 5 Scientists). If you were lucky to get extra Scientists at first month and already finished Beam Weapons (research) and Alien Materials, start Carapace Armor (it takes 28 day with 5 Scientists). Scan the planet. *Abduction Mission will appear, choose a reward which mostly beneficial. At the end of the month you need at least 15 Engineers to build your next Satellite Uplink. Complete the mission and Scan. *UFO Landing Site / UFO Contact appear. After completing the ground mission sell some items on the Gray Market, mainly damaged items. Build an Access Lift and at least one Power Generator (build two Power Generator if you can afford it). *Alien Terror Attack is a really difficult mission in this month. Build enough Laser Rifle and Laser Pistol for your soldiers. These could make it easier. *Abduction Mission will appear, choose a reward which mostly beneficial. At the end of the month you need at least 15 Engineers to build your next Satellite Uplink. Complete the mission and Scan. *UFO Landing Site / UFO Contact appear. After completing the ground mission sell some items on the Gray Market, mainly damaged items. Build a second Power Generator and/or an Officer Training School if you have some spare money. *Before Council Report launch your satellite on a country with 5 panick level, first priority is Africa then the country with highest income. If there is a new continent with satellite build an Interceptors and move one there. Scan to next month. Strategy Number Two Raiding the Alien Base is beneficial. Successfully completing the mission will reduce panic by 2 points worldwide, allowing you to prevent any countries from leaving the Council in this month. It's best to complete the mission shortly before the Council report. Additionally, it will provide you with a lot of , and gives you a chance to research Psi-Abilities for your soldiers. Base management * Build an Access Lift for and . You will also likely need a Power Generator ( ). * Building an Officer Training School ( ) is a good call if you struggle with ground mission. * Build a Thermo Generator ( ) if you have easy access to a steam vent and it's reasonably close by. * Satellite Uplinks grouped together get adjacency bonus. Four uplinks built in a square will cover 12 satellites (8 from satellites + 4 from adjacent bonus = 12). Construction should begin no later than 15 days before the Council report. * Engineer requirement for uplinks increases with every uplink you build ,so you have to increase the number of Engineers you have. This can be done by choosing Engineers as a reward for missions and by building Workshops. A Workshop takes 10 day to build, so you need to start construction at least 25 days before the Council report. * To enable Alien Base Assault, you require an Alien Containment facility ( ), and it takes a week to build, so start building early. After constructing it, you will need to successfully capture any alien and interrogate it. Next step is to capture an Outsider on a ground UFO mission, then research the Outsider Shard. Troops management * Hire at least 8 soldiers ( per soldier). Hired soldiers have 6+1 HP at the start, which will reduce the likelihood of them being killed on a missions. (no longer true due to patch) Third month Objectives: successfully raid the Alien Base. To successfully complete the priority mission, you have to interrogate any captured alien, then stun an Outsider, research the Outsider Shard it leaves behind, and manufacture a Skeleton Key. By this time, XCOM finances should be stable enough to allow you to launch the remaining satellites without more countries leaving the Council. Manage your base, build the necessary facilities, and lay off satellites until the end of the month. When the Council report draws close, make sure your best men are healed up, and go for the Base. Enemy forces inside the base will typically consist of one Sectoid Commander, two groups of two Drones (four in total), one or several groups of Mutons, several groups of Chryssalids, one or several groups of Floaters, and one or several groups of Thin Men or Sectoids. Most aliens are grouped by three, with the exception of Drones. Further development After raiding the Alien Base you should be very well set off. Just cover the rest of the countries with satellites, finish all weapon and armor research, max out your soldiers' ranks, and avoid losses. Once you stabilize the situation and gear well enough, you should be in no danger of losing the game by having more countries withdrawn from the Council. From this point, you can take the game slowly, and complete all the researches before taking further on priority missions. Category:Guides